


Swords and Bows

by orphan_account



Series: swords & bows, wolves & wyverns [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ficlet Collection, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 16:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21665455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A collection of Claude/Felix ficlets. All of them will probably take place sometime during the Golden Deer route, pre or post time-skip.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Claude von Riegan
Series: swords & bows, wolves & wyverns [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654102
Comments: 12
Kudos: 40





	1. priorities

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't mean to start shipping this...whoops :) But thanks to some fics I read I started to and now I can't stop shipping them lol.
> 
> There may be possible allusions to other ships but Claude/Felix will be the main focus every time :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has referenced spoilers through Chapter 9.

There was a new student in the Golden Deer classroom and unlike the previous student, the ever predictable terrible flirt named Sylvain, this new student was moody and disrespectful and brusque but also terribly skilled, powerful, and beautiful.

Yes, Claude had been admiring the back of Felix Hugo Fraldarius, the newest student in the Golden Deer classroom, over the past week or two. He was admiring the speed, the footwork, the swordwork. He badly wanted Felix to show him how to properly hold a sword in his gruff, disrespectful manner. Preferably with his hands as he called Claude... Well, if Felix called Dimitri a “boar”, what name would he give Claude? Maybe with Claude’s reputation of pranks and sneaking around in the dark, he would be a “cat”?

It was incredibly funny to see how flustered Felix got around Sylvain, though. His transfer into Golden Deer was probably not completely independent of Sylvain, and the way that Felix worried over Sylvain was cute. Claude wished someone could be like that about him. Maybe he should be more like Sylvain…no, that would probably give him the Lorenz treatment. Felix probably gave Sylvain some “slack” since they were childhood friends but he appeared to absolutely loathe Lorenz’s mannerisms. Claude almost contemplated forcing Felix to work with Lorenz on their assignments just to see what kind of disaster it might make, though ultimately the professor was the one making the decision. It was pretty funny how they would often pair Lorenz up with Sylvain to work on the horses. Maybe they had some sort of agenda…

But anyway, Claude needed to come up with his own plans to get to know Felix better. Maybe he needed to take a few more trips to the training room. Maybe afterwards he could invite him for a post-training meal in the dining hall or a trip to the sauna. Claude wondered what Felix looked like with his hair down. Surely it would be pretty sight. Just like Felix without a shirt or without any clothes… His body was probably toned and balanced perfectly, like a model in one of those textbooks… Okay, Claude probably couldn’t get Felix to pose for him just yet, but maybe he could sneak a glance… No, Claude needed to restrain himself. Felix was interesting and beautiful but there were other things to take care of. Felix was useful because he knew about some things of the past, knew about Dimitri’s past. The prince had been a little strange after they had returned from Remire Village… After the professor had lost…

Claude had sympathies for the professor but unfortunately there wasn’t time to dwell on the loss. Things were happening too quickly and he needed to prioritize. Felix was going to be a resource on Faerghus and not for Claude’s other urges. Yes, that would be the main reason to corner the beautiful blue-haired swordsman. Though if that required a bit of kissing before telling, Claude would not mind that at all…


	2. Training 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pre time-skip, Sylvain and Felix have transferred to Golden Deer, Ingrid not yet. Byleth will eventually nab them all but it's not important for this ficlet.

Felix walked leisurely to the training grounds after having lunch with Sylvain and Ingrid, taking his time since his “instructor” wouldn’t be there until 1 PM, at least according to Professor Byleth. Earlier Felix had asked Byleth about switching his secondary training from reason to bows. They seemed surprised and reluctant but quickly had a change of heart when they realized how serious Felix was about this. Sure, the Golden Deer group had more than enough people who were good with bows like Claude, Ignatz, and Leonie, and no one else specializing in swords currently besides him and the professor, but Felix didn’t get along with magic as much as he did with bows. Felix’s aim was to become strong; it was Byleth’s problem to figure out how to utilize him best on the battlefield.

Though apparently Byleth wasn’t too good with bows, but they had someone else in mind who would be “eager” to help Felix and told him to go to the training grounds at 1. Then they quickly rushed off to catch this someone before Felix could ask who this person might be. This left Felix to wonder all during lunch who it might be. Byleth was friendly with basically everyone, not just the Golden Deer students they managed, so it could be someone else besides Claude or Leonie… It could be Shamir, though she didn’t seem the type to be “eager” to teach… He was so lost in his thoughts that it caused Sylvain to tease Felix about being lovesick, which earned Sylvain a well-deserved kick from both Felix and Ingrid.

Opening the door to the training grounds, Felix saw that it was full of the usual people: Catherine and Leonie sparring in one corner, Caspar and Rafael in another. At the far end, spinning an arrow casually and looking bored, was Claude. Felix laughed to himself. Why had he thought so hard about this? Of course it was Claude. Ever since Felix had transferred to the Golden Deer he had piqued Claude’s attention, though Felix was never sure what part interested Claude most.

“So…” Claude spun his arrow one more time before putting it away. Felix couldn’t help but feel a little disappointment; the motion had been mesmerizing. “Teach asked me to help you with bows.” With a wink he joked, “I didn’t realize you had eyes for anything besides your sword, except maybe Teach’s sword.”

Felix bit his lip. He wasn’t going to get riled up by Claude’s teasing, not after being friends with Sylvain for so long. “I have trained with bows as a kid,” Felix explained. "I’m no amateur with a bow.”

“Well, great!” Claude grinned. “And I’m no amateur swordsman. Despite my look, I did train some with swords as a kid.” Claude stuck out his right hand. “How about this? If you help me with swords, I’ll help you with bows.”

Felix considered Claude’s proposition. He had only seen Claude with a bow or an axe, so he was interested in seeing if Claude was any good with a sword. Especially since, despite the many things said by Claude and about Claude, Claude wasn’t one to oversell himself. He took Claude’s hand. “Deal.”

Claude grabbed two training swords, threw one at Felix, and they saluted. Not a second later Felix was on the back foot. Felix knew Claude was fast, but he almost didn’t block Claude’s first strike in time. After defending against Claude’s initial attack, Felix no longer underestimated Claude, going on the offensive and forcing Claude backwards. Claude lasted a few minutes against Felix’s barrage before surprising Felix by suddenly putting two hands on his sword, perhaps as a counterattack, but Felix managed to disarm Claude before he got hit. They stood for a minute, both trying to recover from the exertion.

“You weren’t bad, for an archer,” Felix remarked as he lowered his sword, his breathing still a bit ragged.

“Was that a compliment?” Claude asked breathily. “I’m honored.”

Felix ignored Claude’s words and continued, “Although with your speed it’d be better for you to jab quickly and strike multiple times than to try for more power with a two-handed strike.”

Felix didn’t expect Claude to twist his words of advice, but as soon as he saw Claude’s grin, he knew there was trouble. “Oh, is that how I should break down your defense?” Claude teased, taking a step toward Felix. Felix felt himself unconsciously step backward and his heart skip a beat.

“Don’t...” Felix warned, shaking his head and forcing himself to stay put. “I’m being serious,” he grumbled as Claude’s left hand landed on his shoulder. Felix let it rest there for a moment before shaking it off. “If you don’t want to be serious, I’m leaving.”

Claude stepped back, allowing Felix to breathe normally for a moment. “Fine, I’ll keep my thoughts to myself.” And with a wink Claude left Felix standing there, pink-faced, and went to gather some bows and targets.

Felix refused to admit that his cheeks were flushed the rest of the time he and Claude trained together and kicked Sylvain for suggesting that there was another reason besides the hard training they put in. Because Felix was only here to get stronger. Claude was a good teacher when he was serious, and there was definitely nothing more to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will probably be more "training" ficlets in the future but I have no idea how many.


	3. was(n't) supposed to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place post time-skip, near the end of the game. This is rather self-indulgent as I wanted to write a bit with Claude and Felix making out.

_He wasn’t supposed to be here._  
This wasn’t Felix’s room, even if he could navigate his through the piles of books with his eyes closed. He was supposed to be asleep already. He needed to wake up in a few hours to train with Ingrid, and Claude needed to wake up early to consult with Byleth.

_He wasn’t supposed to do this._  
Felix’s fingers cupped Claude’s face, his thumbs pressing deep into the skin above Claude’s jaw as he kissed Claude again. Claude parted his lips and any words Claude said were swallowed by Felix’s lips and tongue, clumsily, but Felix was determined to devour everything that Claude’s mouth could give him.

_He wasn’t supposed to want this._  
Felix didn’t actually like Claude. Claude had too many secrets and too many ways to hide them, too many schemes and too many distractions. Just like right now. The way Claude’s tongue curled against his, the way his fingers tugged at Felix’s hair with just the right amount of pressure…

_He was supposed to stop this._  
Felix may have eschewed his future as a duke but Claude was the Duke of Riegan. They had different stations, different routines, different goals. Felix didn’t know what these kisses meant, when they could not lead to anything. Once this war was over Felix and Claude would go separate ways.

_And yet here he was…_  
Felix had already come this far, had already fallen, hard, into whatever this was. If this was Felix’s only chance… Well it wasn’t as if Felix had much to hope for.

“Come with me,” Claude murmured at some point between kisses.

“Yeah,” Felix answered, pressing his mouth back against Claude’s.

(A few weeks later Felix finally learned what Claude had really asked him that night, and his answer did not change.)


	4. decking (in) the halls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place pre time-skip, vaguely sometime after Felix has transferred to the Golden Deer house.

With his mind focused on going from the classroom to the training hall, Felix usually wouldn’t have noted the two rather mediocre male students hanging out by the covered corridor as more than mere obstacles to navigate around, but when he overheard them badmouthing Claude he immediately halted a few meters away, his mouth forming a deep scowl.

All this bullshit about how no one would join the Golden Deer house willingly except for the allure of Byleth, because who would want to join the class led by the weakling Claude? Well, compared to the boar everyone could be considered a weakling, but it only took one day and one class for Felix to realize Claude was deceptively strong and skilled and definitely worthy of his time and respect. Even if Felix did initially transfer into the Golden Deer house because Byleth asked, he had even less regrets after getting to know Claude a bit better. These two students though… They were just repeating the stupid gossip going around the academy.

“Damn sheep,” Felix scoffed. It must be a pain for Claude to deal with this kind of talk all the time.

“What the hell did you say?” The louder of the two students exclaimed. Oh, apparently they were his former Blue Lions classmates. Not that Felix had cared much for any besides the boar, his loyal dog, Ingrid, and Sylvain before he left the class.

“You heard me.” Felix stared unflinchingly back at the angry student, just catching the other one taking a step back out of the corner of his eye. Coward. “You just can’t think for yourselves.”

“Oh, you’re mad about what we said, huh?” The loudmouth grinned. “Feel the need to defend your ‘poor’ class leader?”

Felix returned the grin with a derisive laugh. “If you are only going to bleat then go back to your pens. You disgust me.”

The cowardly one gasped but the other louder one growled. “You think you can get away with that attitude just because you’re—“

Felix didn’t let him finish the sentence, decking the student straight in the jaw. Maybe the guy was going to say something about his Fraldarius bloodline or his family’s sword skills, but even if Felix had no family name or skill of renown, he was going to punch out an asshole when he saw one. “Shut it.”

“How dare you—” 

“Let’s just go.” The cowardly one pulled on the other student and saved that bastard from another punch, because if Felix had heard any more he would’ve…

“Nice punch.”

Felix swung around to face the new speaker but made sure he had pulled his fist back so he didn’t hit his house leader. “Claude,” he stated with a frown. How much of this had Claude watched and heard? Felix could already feel his cheeks warming up. Claude would probably tease him for days over this…

“Do it again.”

Felix blinked. “What?” That was not the response he was expecting.

Claude continued, “Show me how to deck a guy.” He grinned. “I mean, sometimes I won’t have a weapon nearby, right? It could be a useful skill.”

“Fine.” Felix might have sounded reluctant, but he couldn’t keep down his smile. He looked forward to teaching Claude how to deck a guy and then Claude could go and deck all those losers who dared to insult him. It would certainly be a grand sight to see them all laid out. The only problem would be…

“Thanks,” Claude said softly. Felix’s heart skipped a beat when Claude’s hand landed on his shoulder unexpectedly. He tensed and looked away, only able to breathe again when Claude removed the hand.

“It’s nothing,” Felix mumbled, hiding his face with his arm as Claude chuckled behind him. Curse his pale face for making his blush so obvious. Just because he was a little flustered… It didn’t mean anything. It was just nice to get thanked by someone he respected, that’s all…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta have Felix use his brawling proficiency for good, right? ;)


End file.
